We joined the IJM Australia Stand For Freedom effort for two reasons. One was that very few people are aware that slavery is still an issue in our world.

Matt and Tereza stopped by and signed the petition

The other is that as people serious about the Gospel of Jesus we can’t just sit back and let that situation slide. Every Christian, every church, every community of Christ followers should be worried by the sheer prevalence of violence, human trafficking, and slavery that exists in our world. In many cases, these horrific incidences of slavery exist in contexts where the Christian church has a distinct presence.

Sarah and Shelly – total legends

It could be that standing in our safe and secure suburbia might not change the experience of many of those 36 million slaves.

But one thing is for sure: all the people we chatted with during the 24 hours, the nearly 100 people who signed the Locust Effect Petition, and even all those people who just drove past really slow and read the signage – all of them now know something more.

Monday morning crew at Cockburn Central

And somewhere down the track, maybe even on the Day of Days, when we all stand before the Christ who bought our freedom, none of us will be able to say that we didn’t know.

Michael Choi’s comment on my last post reminded me that like many people, I just did not think about the causes of poverty, or the forces that were actually keeping people poor in the developing world. And yet:

My family sponsors a number of children through Compassion Australia. This wonderful program creates connections between supporters like us and the kids we sponsor. Right now, there are a few letters on our kitchen bench we can respond to. But here’s the thing: I had never seriously pondered the situation of the communities these children live in (Haiti and India), or that predatory coercive violence could be so pervasive in communities like these. I just didn’t think about it

I just didn’t think about it …

Our church family, the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, have special appeals for humanitarian aid. I had never considered that in several of these countries there are factors at work, evil things really, that are responsible for perpetuating poverty and oppression. What our church and others do is wonderful work, and I am not suggesting anything other. But what will all our aid and good will do if we do not address the plague that lies at the heart of many of these communities? Seriously, I had never considered that question. But hardly a day goes by now when it does settle uncomfortably somewhere in my consciousness

On my office desk, I have the smiling photograph of a young woman who was conned with the promise of a better life. The train she was placed on went to a different city than the one she thought she was travelling to. When she arrived, her traffickers snatched her away and threw her into a brothel. She is smiling now because IJM rescued her and then prosecuted those who so violently abused her. Even here, I knew the story, but I was not aware how pervasive violent acts like these were. I thought it was a near one off case. I was a universe away from reality. Fact: There are millions of young girls and women in similar situations every day all over the world. In the video below there is a story of yet another young girl: watch and consider the fear that must weigh on developing world communities.